Freezing apparatus.



' W. DEGENER, JE-

FREEZING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 1.1908.

921 ,370; Patented May 11, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOI? A TTOBNEYS W. DBGENER, JR. TREEZING APPARATUS.APPLIGATION FILED APR. 1, 1908. 921 ,370. Patented May 11, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. ILLIAM DEGENER, m, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FREEZING APB RATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed April 1, 1908. SerialNo. 424,489.

Patented May 11, 1909.-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DE-GENE}??- J r., a citizen of the'UnitedStates, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, inthe county and State of New York, have invented a new and Im rovedFreezing Apparatus, of which the f0 owing is a full, clear,and exactdescription.

This invention relates to freezing apparatus, and more articularly toapparatus of this kind in which the congealing of liquids' by means ofcold can be effected, and which includes means controlled by the changeof volume of the liquids, due to the congela tion, for, operating theapparatus to discharge the .congealed liquld and replace it tures can beused for the production of ice and other congealed liquids.

Another object of the invention is to )1'0- vide a device of the classdescribed, w ich is absolutely automatic in operation, by means of whichreceptacles of ice can be removed from the outer air, in which thefreezing is effected to a point within a house, an

ice-box or the like, and which effects the removal of the receptacles tothe outer air when the ice therein has melted.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a freezingapparatuswhich obviates the necessity of cutting ice on ponds and thelike, by means of which the'freezing of the water in blocks ofpredetermined sha )e-can be effected, and which are dischargeautomatically when the freezing is completed.

The invention consists in the construction.

and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinaften andparticularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure'l is alongitudinal section of my invention, showing a receptacle filled witliquid to be congealed, and a magazine of similar receptacles; F ig. 2is a similar view showing a receptacle filled with ice and about to hereceived from the outer air towithin a 1 building; Fig. 3 is atransverse section show-' ing the magazine of receptacles together. witha track upon which the receptacles I travel; Fig. 4 is a verticalsection of a form of; my invention used upon lakes, ponds or the like,which obviates the cutting. of ice, and which serves to eifect theforming of ice in blocks, and the automatic discharge of the blocks;Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section showing a modified form'of myinventionin which the receptacles or canisters of ice are dischargeddirectly to an ice-box, and when the icehas melted are returnedautomatically td the outer air so that the contents thereof can again becongealed; and Fig. 6

receptacles to the outer air.

Before proceeding to a more detailed ex planation of my invention, itshould "be use of the temperature of the atmos here alone, for freezingthe water, artificial y in.- duced low tern eratures can. of course beused equally we for example, during those seasons of the year when thetemperature of theair is normally'too high for the congelation ofwateror other liquids. Water, in 'freezing expands. aiproximatelyoneexerts a tremendous force I- make use of this force by meansofsuitable mechanism, for removing the; con ealed water to a place, forexample an ice box, which is remote from, the point of its congolation.

ponds,'lakes and thelike to avoid the necessity of cutting ice, the ex)ansive force of the freezing water is used to'discharge the blocks ofice formed, to a point adjacent to the device, from which they can begathered by means of a vehicle.- or the like. I wish to emphasize thatmy invention resides not in any of the various details of constructionshown, for example, in the accompanying drawings, but consists primarilyin the provision of means for utilizing'the force developed by theexpansion of a congealed to a point at which it can be utilized, or toremove it merel so that its place can be taken by other iquid to becongealed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1. Orepresents a windowframe of a house or other building, provided" with a window clearlyunderstood that while Ihaveshown for example, forms-of the device whichmake eighth of its volume, an in thus expanding is a transverse sectionshowing a portion of the lee-box and the means for returning the In theform of the device used 1n connection with I liquid, to remove theliquid when congealed,

11, which can be of the usual construction. While the form of myinvention described below is shown as extending-through the window of abuilding, it can equally well be.

used in connection with some other opening in the wall of the structure.I provide track members 12 extending from the inside 'to the outside ofthe building, through the window opening, and resting upon the Windowsill 13. The track members 12 are separated and carry-therebetweenrollers 14 for a purpose which willappear hereinafter. At

the outer ends of the track formed by the to prevent leakage of thewater 20 or other liquid which the receptacles contain.- A receptacle 1Sfilled with water is placed upon thetrack rollers with one end engagingat a head-21 carried-at the free end of the spring.

At a point removed from the head 21 a dis-' tance substantially'equal tothe length of a receptacle 18 is a catch 22 slidably mounted in a socket23 carried upon one of the track members 12, and adapted to engage thereceptacle to hold it in position. A spring 24 within the socket 23normally projects the catch. The latter has a stud 25 which engages aslot 26 of a bell crank lever 27 pivoted upon one of the track members12 and connected with the head 21 by means of an arm 28 slidably'.mounted in a guide 29.

The windowo ening is closed by means of a flap 30 of suita le flexiblematerial which can be displaced by the receptacle as the latter travelsalong the track upon the rollers.

As the liquid within the receptacle freezes or congeals, it expands, andin expanding, the telescoping parts of the receptacle are forced apart,as is shown most clearly in Fig. 2. As the receptacle is held inposition by the catch 22 the expansion of the liquid the receptaclealong the track and into the compresses the spring 16. The head 21 moveswith the spring, and through the arm 28 operates'the bell'crank lever27. Consequently, when the liquid is congealed the spring hasbeencompressed to such a point t at the catch' is displaced to release thereceptacle, and the potential energy stored in the spring, as the catchis. released rojects building.

Adjacent to the track within the building is a,chute or magazine 31 inwhich is arranged a plurality of receptacles 18. The

magazine has an outlet adjacent to the track, and a trigger 32 whichholds the outermost receptacle 18 in place. The trigger 32 .hinge 52 xofthe casing upon a suitable bracket 54 and it depresses the dog, andwhen it passes from the track, thus releases the first of thereceptacles 18 within the magazine. The same rolls out uponthe track andstarts downward along it. The track, it will be understood, is suitablyvinclined for the purpose.

The new receptacle then moves downward to the spring, and as soon as itpasses from the dog 34 the trigger 32 is released, and in time to engagethe next of'the receptacles in the magazine to hold it in position andprevent it from leaving the magazine. The

receptacle moving downward upon the track passes over'thecatch 22,depressing the latter, which is suitably beveled to permit the.

passa e toward the spring of the receptacle 18. f. the outer air is coldenough, the

liquid within the receptacles will be frozen.

These will be successively discharged from the magazine, andsubsequently, when frozen, will be returned to the building, passingdown the chute 17 to the point where theyare to be utilized.

In Fig. 4 is shown a modified'form of my invention, which can be used asa substitute,

for the operation of cuttinli ice'upon ponds, lakes, reservoirs and thel' e. In this form of the invention 1 emplo a substantiallycylindrical'casing 50 who 1s arranged in a suitably formed opening inthe ice A of a lake or pond B. The upper rim of the casing 50 projectsabove the surface of the ice A, while the lower art extends into thewater of the lake B. X edge of the casing1 by means of, a suitable Acatc 53, pivoted at the side arranged within a tubular chamber 55 at theside 0f"t'he casing, serves to engage at the edge of the lid 51 to holdthe latter ina closed position. A piston or plunger 56 is slidablewithin the casing and has a piston ring 57 which insures a tight fit.The piston 56 has a hollow piston rod 58, sliding in a suitable opening59 of the bottom of the casing, and rovided with an annular lateralflange 60 wliich limits the movement of the piston longitudinally ofthecasing in one direction. A helical spring 61 incased in an envelop 62of rubber or the like, surrounds the piston rod. The casing can be heldby a float or in any other *convenient manner before the lake freezes,and the ice then allowed to form about the casing to secure it inposition.

The chamber 55 extends longitudinally of the casing to a point below thepiston and.

the casing. A member 64 is arrangedunderlid 51 is mounted at the-upperneath the piston a'ndhas' a stem 65' slidably located-in the slot 63 andextending into the chamber 55. The stem 65 is joined by means of a lineor link 66 with an arm .67 of the catch 53. A'flap 68,,of flexibleorother suitablematerial; closes the upper opening of the hollow pistonrod 59 and constitutes a one-way valve. The envelop 62 serves to protectthe spring 61' from the water which might penetrate the casingunderneath the piston. When the casing is filled with water and the lid51 is closed and held closed bv the catch 53, the expansion of theliquid within the casing, due 'to its congelation, forces the tends tohold the catch 53 in a normallyop erative position. A leaf spring 70,mounted at the opp osite end of the casing and extending upwardly abovethe same, is arranged to engage the lid 51 as the latter is swung to anopen position, and returns it to a closed position after the ice leavesthe casing.

As the ice is forced outward by the action of the spring, the water fromthe lake enters the casing'through the hollow piston rod 59, the valve68 opening inwardly for this purpose. A vacuum'is created by themovement of the ice'from the casing and this acts r the casing can begreased or otherwise lubri-' cated on the inner surface, to facilitatethe to draw water into the'latter to the-upper rim thereof. In this waythe operation of the device is continuous, and as soon'as one block ofice is formed and ejected the casing is filled with water, whichsubsequently freezes to form a second block. If necessary,

removal of the ice blocks therefrom.

'In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6, a track 37 leadsdirectly through a suitable opening 38 in a site walls 40 of which areinclined toward each, other from top to bottom. A return track 41 leadsfrom the bottom of the refrigerator 39 through a suitable opening' 42 tothe outer end of the track at which the receptacles are positionedduring the congelation. The receptacles filled with the congealedliquidenter the ice chest through the opening 38in ally move downward betweenthe walls as the congealed liquid is melted in cooling. In

this way the receptacles are radually tele-'. scoped again and are readyto e returned to the outer air to be again frozen. The part 43 of therefrigerator, within which the receptacles are located, constitutes amagazine having an outlet adjacent to the return track 41. A guidesocket 44 is provided at the gall, intonan icechest, refrigerator or theli e, 39, the oppo-' outlet, in: which is located a novablefinger 45heldin a projected operative position by means of aspring- 46. Thetrigger is connected by a line 47, passing over a pulley 48,

with the bell crank lever 27, so that as the receptacle at the outer endof the track is released, the lowermost of the receptacles within therefrigerator is released si-inultaneouslyftherewith. A swinging trap '49directs the receptacle moving under the impulse of the-spring 16 on tothe upper track- 37 and into the upper portion of the refrigerator. Thetrap 49 -permits the released receptacle to move along the lower track41 from the refrigerator'to a position at the outer end of the track,where it is to be congealed and from which it is subsequently returnedto the refrigerator by the spring 16. The lower track 41 has rollers 14and is suitably inclined to permit the return from.the refrigerator ofthe successive receptacles filled with liquid to be congealed.

Patent:

container for a substanceto be congealed, a spring, and a movable membercontrolled by t e-substance and controlling said spring so thatthespring is compressed by the substance -in changing form when congealed,

vwhereby said spring'serves to advance the substance to a point remotefrom the point of its congelation: Y

2. In'.apparatus of the class described,

Having thus-described my invention, I claim-as new, and desire to securebyLetters f 9O 1. In apparatus of the class described, a

means for .converting the expansive forceexerted by a congealingsubstance into potential energy, andlmeans for utilizing the potentialenergy to remove thecongealed substance to a point remote from the pointof its congelation.

3. In .ap aratus of the class described, a container or a fluid tobe'congealed, and means controlled by the change in the volume of thecongealing fluid, for removing the congealed fluid from the place of itscongelation. 4. In apparatus of\the class described, an adjustablecontainer. for a fluid to be congealed, means for converting themovement of the container due to the ex ansive force exerted by'the eoneah'ng su stance, into potential energy, an means for utilizing thepotential ener to remove the containerto a place remote rom the place ofthe congelation of the fluid. 1 the upper part'of the refrigerator andgradu 5.- In apparatus of the class described, a

container for a fluid to be con ealed, means for resisting the expansionof t e fluid while it is congealing, means for storing the force forpositioning said container at a point havflui said track at the point oflower temperature, a means forholding a container in'engagement 'ing atemperature adaptedto congeal the fluid, means for storing the energyproduced by the change in volume of the congealing fluid, and means forutilizing the stored energy to remove said container to a point,

remote from the first point. 1

7. In apparatus of the class described,- a telescopic container for afluid to be cong'ealed, means for holding said container in position ata point having. a temperature adapted to congeal the fluid, means forstor in the energyprodu'ced by the change in v0 ume of the congealingfluid, and means controlled by'said last-mentioned means, for releasingsaid container.

8. In apparatus of the class described, a

track, an extensible container for a -fluid to be congealed, a"stop forholding said container against-movement along said track in onedirection, a spring engaging said container when the same is held inposition upon said track, [and a 'release controlled by said spring, forreleasing said container.

9. In apparatus of the class described, a

a track connecting two points having different tem eratures, telescopingcontainers for a to. be congealed, a spring adjacent to with saidspring, means for releasing the con- 3 tainer, a magazine for containersat the point ofhigher temperature, and means operable by the movement ofa container along said track, for releasing one of the containers withinsaid magazine, said track being inclined to permit a receptacle totravel gravitationally along the same from said magazine to saidspring.i

10. In apparatus of the class describedfa track having at one end aspring, telescoping 40 containers fonfluid to be congealed, means forholding one of said containers in enga ement with said spring, meanscontrolled y said spring for releasing one of said containers from itsposition against said spring, a casing 4 adapted to receive saidreceptacles at the upper end thereof, said track leading to the upperend of said casing,' said casing being formed to telescope saidcontainers as the same ass through said casing, and a return 50

